A few years ago, while living in Hawaii, Niki and I decided to celebrate Christmas in Paris. Before we could take off, we first had to visit the local library. You see, Niki is a master planner and a rabid researcher, but not me. I avoid libraries like an overdue book. This time, she was insistent. “We have books to browse, periodicals to peruse, maps to memorize, and language lessons to learn!” “Whoa! Stop the Metro! Language lessons? What language?” Apparently, Paris is in France, and the French prefer to speak, well, French. My friends often accuse me of speaking English as if it were my own foreign tongue, so French was now the official language in the Land of Never Going to Happen. Each day, Niki added voluminously to her vocabulary. Meanwhile, I did what I always do. I … [Read more...]

It was a day decades in the making. Growing up in the 1960s, nothing mesmerized me more than the Space Race.  I was five years old the night that Neil Armstrong took his “one small step for man.”  I remember it vividly. Like every other kid in 1969, I dreamed of flying in space and walking on the moon.  Given my challenges with basic arithmetic, and my tendency to toss my cookies on anything that spins, this was never going to happen.  If you can’t ride the Tea Cups at Magic Kingdom, chances are you won’t last long riding a Saturn V rocket, either. Go ahead.  Call me an astroNOT. The Kennedy Space Center is only an hour east of Walt Disney World.  It might as well be on the moon. Despite my fascination with space, growing up in Florida, and now flying there more frequently than … [Read more...]

Happy 2019! I hope that your New Year is off to a great start.  Niki and I celebrated the ringing in of the New Year with our Disney family in Indianapolis.  We then spent the first day of 2019 flying home to Southern California. A five hour flight on New Year’s Day gives you a lot of time to think and reflect.  Where have we been? Where are we going? What needs to be the #1 priority over the next 365 days? My resolution was to eat healthier.  In fact, I ate so much on New Year’s Eve that I declared that I was not eating at all during 2019.  This unrealistic resolution held throughout the cross-country flight. I said “no” to the peanuts. I said “no” to the pretzels. I even said “no” to my all-time favorite cookies—the Oreos. When we landed at LAX, I was so proud of … [Read more...]

People often ask me why I love Disneyland so much. They want to know why I am so interested in Walt. When did this start? How did this all begin? Despite going by the name “Dr. Disneyland,” I do not hold a doctorate degree in all things Disney. My Ph.D. is actually in New Testament Studies. My doctoral dissertation focused on narrative criticism and how the Bible uses story to help us live a better story. And that’s the connection. Walt Disney didn’t want to be remembered for Mickey Mouse, Snow White, or even Disneyland. He wanted us to remember him as a storyteller. In fact, he built Disneyland for the purpose of telling stories. Stories that I believe are challenging each of us to go out and live our own, great story. The story of Christmas is one of the world’s best … [Read more...]

When I first dreamed of writing a book about Disneyland, I really only knew two things.  First, I didn’t want to write another Disney history book. Those already existed, I had read almost all of them, and knew that I couldn’t do better than what was already available.  I also didn’t want to write another Disney business book. Those, too, already existed. Plus, I have never worked for Disney and am in education, not business. Instead, I wanted to marry two different markets—our love for Disney and the Disney Parks with our need for personal growth and development.  If you want to know what your passion is then ask yourself this question, What am I willing to read 500 books on? Now no worries.  In order to pursue your passion, you don’t actually have to read 500 books.  But knowing … [Read more...]

As we look forward to Thanksgiving Week, I want to take a moment and look backwards. When we think about the history of Thanksgiving, most of us remember the stories from the pilgrims, the Mayflower, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. What you may not know, or may not remember, is that our nation did not have Thanksgiving as an official National Holiday until Abraham Lincoln declared one in November 1863—in the middle of the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, the man who saved the Union and abolished slavery, was Walt Disney’s favorite President. Abraham Lincoln once said, “You live the life you think about.” Stop for a moment and think about those words. “You live the life you think about.” Too many of us are slaves to our own thinking. As we get ready to celebrate on … [Read more...]

If it weren’t for Nabisco, I’m not sure that I ever would have noticed.  It took a package of Oreo sandwich cookies, a special edition package, for me to realize that Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie turn 90 on November 18.  Instead of the traditional vanilla, Mickey’s morsels come complete with birthday cake flavored filling. Yes, they are delicious. In my defense, it is fitting that it took an Oreo cookie for me to realize that Mickey is turning 90, making this year’s celebration extra sweet.  Both the cookie and the cartoon premiered in New York City. Both originally came only in black and white. Both also appeared together in Disney’s first commercially sponsored cartoon, Mickey’s Surprise Party, which ends with Mickey bringing home an assortment of Nabisco products to … [Read more...]

On October 5, 2001, Disneyland guests experienced their first official “Nightmare.”  No, the park didn’t close early, experience a multitude of mechanical breakdowns, or (gasp) run out of ice cream.  This was debut day for The Nightmare Before Christmas— now an annual Holiday Overlay inspired by an Imagineer asking, “which Disney character would celebrate Christmas in the Haunted Mansion?”    The answer, of course, is Jack Skellington.  As “Sandy Claws,” Skellington moves into the Mansion and shows guests what happens when two holidays, Halloween and Christmas, collide.  Ironically, in 1993 when Disney first released Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, they were scared of Skellington.  Fearing that the film was too dark and scary for kids, executives endeavored to distance the … [Read more...]

October is a big month for fans of Walt Disney World. October is when the Orlando Sentinel announced in 1965 that Disney was coming to Central Florida. October is when the resort opened with its first theme park, Magic Kingdom, in 1971. October is also when Epcot opened, finally, in 1982. October is also when Beyond the Wisdom of Walt: Life Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth released. In celebration of the one-year anniversary, I want to share an excerpt from my book on Walt Disney World. This is the opening story for Chapter 2, “Learning to Let it Go”. Enjoy! ABOVE THE CRYSTAL ARTS SHOP on Main Street, U.S.A. in Walt Disney World is a curious window. This, like many of the Main Street windows at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, is a tribute window- Walt’s way of giving … [Read more...]

They haven’t always been there. Disneyland’s mountains. You realize that they haven’t always been there, right? Disneyland opened in 1955 with an assortment of attractions. Twenty-one to be exact. Opening day experiences ranged from a railroad you could ride, a steamboat you could sail, to a jungle you could cruise. But no mountains. I remembered this two years ago when my dad, who lives in Tennessee, came to California for a visit. He had been to Southern California, once, in 1960, for a trip to Disneyland. Fifty-five years later, he was shocked to see so many mountains surrounding Los Angeles. “Son, I swear these mountains weren’t here when your mom and I visited back in 1960.” “Well, you know dad, it’s possible that Southern California has added mountains since the … [Read more...]